Woman gives birth to healthy son after defying doctors who told her to abort 'disabled' baby

Last updated at 16:03pm on 23rd July 2007

A couple were advised by medical experts to abort their unborn child amid fears he would be severely disabled - but he was born perfectly healthy.

Heather O'Connor and Jamie Bramley went through months of turmoil after being told that scans suggested part of the baby's brain could be missing. But Jake, their first baby, arrived weighing a healthy 7lb 9oz - and with no defects.

Consultants at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester had recommended Heather should abort her child early in her pregnancy in March. But the couple asked for a second opinion and a professor at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield disagreed, saying he believed the child's brain was normal.

Heather O'Connor with her son Jake

St Mary's doctors continued to have serious concerns until April, when they said a further ultrasound scan had indicated the child was fine. However, in May, a St Mary's consultant again said they believed the baby's brain was abnormal.

Heather and Jamie decided against a further examination at Sheffield and decided to go ahead with the pregnancy.

Jamie, 24, and Heather, 19, of Heaton Chapel, Stockport, spoke of their anguish in the months before Jake's birth.

It started after a scan at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport suggested the child had swelling on the brain and Heather was referred to St Mary's.

Heather had a detailed scan there and doctors said the baby had brain swelling and might have a rare defect. "They said he may end up brain dead or severely disabled," said Jamie.

"They said the scan was 99 per cent reliable and recommended abortion. We were distraught. I asked for further investigations, but the doctor said he was rarely wrong.

"Heather was very distressed and we agreed to go to Sheffield for an MRI scan. The professor at Sheffield said that in his opinion, the baby may be fine. But then at St Mary's, a doctor said the pictures from Sheffield were inaccurate to him.

"We were more confident after seeing the expert at Sheffield, but because of St Mary's views, there was always an awful doubt in our minds."

Heather said: "You didn't know who to believe. But after our experience, maybe other people will not give up hope if something similar happens."

The Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St Mary's, said: "The decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy because of a suspected abnormality is a highly individual one and we take great care to ensure patients are aware of all of the facts to allow them to make an informed decision."

The trust said it would 'not actively recommend or dissuade' patients from choosing a termination, but apologised if the family 'were given the impression that they were being advised to take this option'.

Perhaps my hope and trust is misplaced, but I have trouble believing that a majority of Americans would allow such a thing. Even so, the Socialists never care about the majority and will continue trying to sneak Socialist "healthcare" in the back door by misrepresenting it and fooling people....eternal vigilance is essential.

I had acquaintances who were told that their child would be born with Downs. They agonized, but when someone recommended a friend of their's who adopted Downs babies, they realized that if a perfect stranger could love their child, so could they.

They continued through the pregnancy (even being told at 8 months that they could still abort!), and gave birth to a perfect little girl. (The father was barely restrained at delivery time, and the doctor had to leave immediately or be badly beaten.)

A couple of years later they adopted a Downs child. Really good people.

21
posted on 07/23/2007 10:45:02 AM PDT
by AnnaZ
(I keep 2 magnums in my desk.One's a gun and I keep it loaded.Other's a bottle and it keeps me loaded)

My cousin and her husband were told with 100% certainty that their son would be profoundly deformed and would die shortly after birth. They were told to have an abortion to avoid the anguish of giving birth, but couldn’t bring themselves to do it, thank God.

Today their son is a healthy college student. He was born with absolutely no defects whatsoever, and has been completely healthy his entire life.

Pregnant women are so vulnerable to fear that they can be pushed into almost anything. A certain hospital has become notorious for “browbeating” women into aborting their supposedly severely disabled children. I have a strongly pro-life friend who was almost intimidated into killing her unborn child, despite her convictions, but persevered to bear a wonderfully perfect child. When my friend couldn’t think of anything else to say to the doctor who was insisting she must abort, she said, “My husband would never allow this.” The doctor replied, “Your husband doesn’t have to know.” It really makes you wonder.

Our last born, we were told he had some kind of cysts or something on his spinal cord and we “should consider taking action” because there is a good chance he will be born with staggering brain damage. He’ll be one next month and he’s a healthy, happy baby boy(Thank you Lord). That was an unnecessarily stressful time for us. Sometimes they think they know too much and we all need to trust God more.

Recommending the death penalty needs a better record than 90% obviously they were wrong, if they were wrong then they could not have been certain, and if they were not certain they should not have made the recommendation until they became certain. Your best estimated guess does not support a death sentence.

Check to see if the hospital or clinic has a ‘tissues’ contract with a harvesting agency supplying ‘parts’ to research programs. It’s a more than a billion dollar industry now; got to have tissue sources don’tchaknow.

37
posted on 07/23/2007 11:00:48 AM PDT
by MHGinTN
(You've had life support. Promote life support for those in the womb.)

A woman I work with has four children. For all four pregnancies, the doctors predicted the baby’s gender. In all four cases they were wrong.

If the medical profession would stop treating childbirth as a disease, we might all be better off. Medicine, for all of its tests and fancy equipment, really has little understanding of the human body and how it works. And their knowledge about reproduction is probably less than 0.

When my friend couldnt think of anything else to say to the doctor who was insisting she must abort, she said, My husband would never allow this. The doctor replied, Your husband doesnt have to know.

Socialism is the rule in Great Britain now. Is ANYBODY over there married anymore? Other than the slightly obscene Beckham franchise? No marriage means welfare benefits, the gov’t teat is not just for losers anymore. It’s a way of life now.

You just hit that nail on the head. Nobody checks the waste stream after an abortion to see if the doctor recommending it was correct. I don't even know if doing so is possible.

If a doctor recommends abortion and the parents agree, the doctor is right by definition. And the parents are probably so upset that they cling to the infallibility of the doctor, and never consider the possibility that he may have made a mistake.

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